72 Hour Pass
by Kirby's Cowgirl
Summary: The squad's R & R doesn't go as planned. Alex discovers one of Saunders secrets.


_Copyright 8/16 by Kirby's Cowgirl_

 _Fan-Fiction based on TV Show Combat! Copyright Selmur Production, Inc, ABC, Image_

 _Productions etc._

 _Disclaimer: Combat! and its characters do not belong to me, t_ _his WWII story is a piece of fan-fiction_ _and I am not being compensated in any tangible way for this story._

72 Hour Pass

"I'll get this round." Kirby said, heading for the bar. He couldn't hide his grin at Alex and Littlejohn shuffling around the dance floor. The big man was so depressed that even Caje was worried about him. The squad hadn't had any mail in weeks. That was the first thing Kirby had told Alex after he kissed her.

He had three whole days to spend with his wife! He couldn't believe that they had managed to get a pass at the same time. The song ended, and Kirby tried to get the bartenders attention. The new song was a fast tempo. There was no way that Littlejohn would try to dance to that. He hadn't wanted to dance at all. Kirby thought that Doc had kicked him under the table when Alex asked him to dance with her and he looked like he was going to refuse.

He finally got their tray of beers, and Littlejohn stepped in front of him and took it. "Don't get mad." He said, and looked at Kirby worriedly.

Kirby glanced around the big ox, figuring that Alex was tearing up the floor with Doc. But it was McCall she was dancing with.

"Kirby –" Littlejohn started.

Kirby saw Doc start to get up from the table. Alex flashed him a big grin as she and Danny danced past. He automatically grinned back at her. He had had no idea that she could move like that. If she was happy and having a good time, that was all that mattered. He would prefer that she didn't dance with McCall, but what the hell…

"It's ok." Kirby said to Littlejohn. "I'm not going to be ass and upset Alex."

"Good." Littlejohn said, starting back to the table.

"It wouldn't kill you to act like you're having a little fun." Kirby said. "Al loves you too, you know."

"I know." Littlejohn said glumly. "It's just -"

"Al will get the mail straightened out."

"I never understood why Mavis decided she wanted me." Littlejohn said, as he sat their beers down on the table.

"Mavis is not going to "Dear John" you." Doc said.

Saunders shot him a look that said he shouldn't have said that.

"She's really pretty, and I'm just a big moose." Littlejohn said.

"And Alex thinks the world of you and she said if she wasn't already stuck with Kirby, that Mavis would have some competition." Caje said.

Kirby laughed out loud. "Yeah, half the time I don't know what you two are talking about."

"Maybe you better be learning." Saunders said. "Doc may not always be around to translate for you." He couldn't comprehend most of the things they talked about himself. The Percherons vs Belgians vs a tractor, or a team of mules, was an ongoing debate that he thought all the guys looked forward to, whether they understood or not. What had surprised him was that McCall joined in and seemed fairly knowledgeable about horses himself.

"Doc is moving in with Alex and me." Kirby said. "She said it was 75 miles to town and she almost bled to death when she got hooked by a steer."

"Mon dieu." Caje said, sitting down his beer.

"You're serious." Saunders said. He had thought that the Irishman was making a bad joke.

"She's got scars almost as bad as McCall's." Kirby said, and blanched. "She's a hell of a lot tougher than I am."

"She's tougher than any of us." Doc said. "But Kirby, what if I don't want to be a cowboy? What if I want to get married?"

"Alex said you're going to medical school."

Doc chuckled." Right."

"And she's already picked out your wife, but she won't tell me who it is."

Doc nearly sprayed beer across the table but he barely got his hand over his mouth in time. Even Saunders laughed at the expression on his face.

"Who am I marrying?" Caje asked, grinning.

"My sister." Kirby said. The way he said it made all of them laugh. Alex did have a tendency to try and run things.

"What about the Sarge?" Littlejohn asked.

"Oh, no." Saunders shook his hand at them. "Leave me out of this."

"Leave you out of what?" Alex asked, as she and Danny came back to the table. She took a big swallow of beer before she sat down next to Kirby. McCall sat next to Doc, across the table from her.

"Who taught you how to dance like that, McCall?" Littlejohn asked, grinning.

"My wife." Danny said, and then sat his beer down and looked confused.

"Danny." Alex reached across the table and took his hand.

"It's ok, Alex." He tried to shrug it off.

"Kirby teach you how to dance, Alex?" Caje asked, grinning, trying to take the pressure off McCall.

"My friend Blue." She looked like she was going to start crying, and Kirby put his hand on her shoulder.

"Where's Sally?" Doc asked. He had thought that Alex's cousin would join them, and that would be another pretty girl to dance with.

"Probably in bed with Rick." Alex said.

Kirby choked on the swallow of beer he'd just taken, and his face turned purple. "Al, you can't say things like that!"

"Why?" Alex asked him, completely deadpan.

Caje laughed out loud. Doc was grinning. Littlejohn was just as embarrassed as Kirby was. Saunders didn't even think that McCall had heard her, he was so lost in thought. He gave Alex the glare that was normally reserved for Kirby, and she winked at him.

"Ah, ah - You just _can't!"_ Kirby sputtered.

Now _that_ was funny. Saunders chuckled in spite of himself. Alex definitely had Kirby's number. She was cut from the same cloth as Trish O'Brien. He swallowed hard, and suddenly it wasn't funny anymore.

"Let's dance, Blondie!" Alex said, standing up and holding out her hand. He started to refuse. She hadn't even danced with Kirby yet.

"Go on, Sarge. You have to dance better than I do." Littlejohn said.

Saunders took Alex's hand and they stepped out on the dance floor. "What's wrong?" she asked.

At the exact same time, he said, "I'd appreciate it if you could find out what happened to our mail. I don't know how much longer Littlejohn can hold out."

"I can't believe that he thinks Mavis would "Dear John" him." Alex said. "The poor child has lost so much weight worrying about him that they've had to take in her wedding dress twice."

Saunders let out the breath that he'd been holding in a whoosh. He hadn't realized exactly how worried that he was until Alex had said that. He'd promised to be Littlejohn's best man, for God sakes.

"Talk to me, Blondie." Alex said.

He just gave her _that look._ And while it would have worked on _most_ people, he already knew that it didn't work on her and Sally. Or Doc and Caje for that matter.

"Bottling up whatever it is is going to make you sick." Alex said quietly. "I won't tell Kirby. If it's something at home, maybe I can help -"

"Alex, you can't fix everything." He said, his voice gruff. Dammit! If he didn't have a couple minutes to himself, he might actually break down and cry. He didn't know why he was suddenly missing Trish O'Brien with an intensity that shocked him. It had been Beckley that was in love with her. She had been the most inappropriately funny woman he had ever met. Her and that ever popping bubble gum. He choked.

Alex stopped dancing, and put her hand on his cheek. "I'm sorry." She said. "You don't have to talk about her."

"She's dead." Saunders said, and blinked back the tears that had come in spite of him biting his jaw so hard he knew it was bleeding.

"I know. And I remind you of her." Alex started to back off the dance floor.

"No." he managed. "Don't."

"Ok." Alex said, and between the two of them, they maneuvered to the far corner of the room where the guys would have to look hard to see them. For just a second, Saunders let himself bury his face in Alex's neck. Just a second. Then he forced himself back under control. He really needed to stay away from this annoying woman. She was just like his Mother, who could keep track of four kids and a dog from half a block away.

"Mavis and I really appreciate you." Alex said in his ear. "I know what a dumbass Kirby is and that he still gets into trouble."

"And you married him?" Saunders countered.

"I must have temporarily lost my mind." Alex said. Then she said, "Dammit!"

Until Trish O'Brien, Saunders had never heard a woman cuss, and he chuckled, wondering what Kirby had done now. But he realized that Alex was _mad._ And then he saw Jackson cutting across the dance floor.

"No and hell no." Alex said, glaring at Jackson. Saunders backed up a step. If she punched Rick, well, he wasn't fool enough to get involved in that. The entire squad would be in it if half a second if he wasn't careful.

"We lost some ground." Rick said quietly, so that only the three of them heard. "We're too close to the front and we're going to have to go back."

"Only if the guys can come too." Alex said, crossing her arms and glaring at him. "I am not a damn china doll. I shoot and fight better than half your raw recruits, and you know it."

"Yeah, I do know it." Rick said. "I also know that if things go to shit, every man here will die trying to protect you, whether they need to or not."

"I really hate you sometimes." Alex stepped off the dance floor and headed for Kirby.

"I _told_ you to let me tell her, you idiot." Sally said, appearing behind Rick. "She hasn't even danced with Kirby yet, has she?"

All the guys were on their feet, and Alex went around the table and hugged them, starting with Littlejohn. She whispered something to the big man that made him shuffle his feet and look embarrassed. She just hugged McCall hard. Then it was Doc's turn. Saunders had never seen her hug Caje before, and he had halfway thought that the two of them didn't like each other. Whatever she'd said in his ear had him giving Saunders a worried look.

"She told Caje I'm upset." Saunders thought. "Not Doc, why -" He stopped. Alex was more perceptive than any of them. Something must be bothering his medic. If Alex had had the time off she'd been promised, she'd have wormed it right out of Doc.

She just looked at Kirby and said something that Saunders didn't catch, but all the guys shuffled their feet and looked uncomfortable. Kirby gulped, looked miserable, and nodded, and Saunders realized that Alex was fixing to cry and she just wanted to get away from all of them. All the guys stayed at the table. Littlejohn had tears streaming down his face, and McCall and Doc both put a hand on him.

"Thanks, Blondie." Alex said, hugging him so hard he had to take a step back. He felt her wet tears against his cheek for just a second, and then she headed out the door. "One of these days, I'm going to kill you." She hissed at Jackson as she passed him.

"And I'll help her." Sally said, the look she gave him promising trouble. Then she glanced at Saunders. "Well we have two whole days off that we have to spend at the _rear._ Is there something we can do for the guys that would make _Alex_ feel better?"

"Mail." Saunders said instantly.

"I'm on it." Sally said, heading out the door after Alex.

Early the next morning, Saunders was dozing against the bombed out building where the squad had spent the night. Caje couldn't sleep inside anymore. Being confined for any amount of time really bothered him. The squad would usually bed down against a building that would at least give them some shelter from the elements.

He heard a vehicle approaching, and then it stopped. "Sarge?" Braddock's hesitant voice had him pushing his helmet up.

"Our pass is revoked." He said tiredly. He'd figured it was coming.

"Ah, no." Braddock said. "Where's Littlejohn?"

"Whatever you've got for Littlejohn, I'll give it to him." Saunders said, getting to his feet.

"No." Braddock said. The look that Saunders gave him made him blanch. "The Lieutenant told me I had to hand it to him personally and make sure he read it. Man, the brass was all over the radio yelling. I don't know what's going on."

"I think he and Doc went to get a shower." Saunders said. Surely if it was bad news from home, Lieutenant Hanley would have come himself. Or told Saunders to deliver the news. "I heard we lost some ground." He said to Braddock, as they walked thru what was left of the village.

"Three miles." Braddock said. "It lasted about fifteen minutes. Beckley and Hall pushed 'em right back. I think Beckley's crazy -" At the look on Saunders face. "He takes too many risks."

Doc broke off his whistling when he saw them, and Littlejohn spun around, his bayonet in his hand.

"What's wrong, Sarge?" Doc asked, casting a worried look at Littlejohn as he shut the water off.

"Braddock has something for you." Saunders said to Littlejohn.

The big man turned the shower off and reached for a towel to dry his face before he took the pouch from Braddock's hand. The letter he took from it wasn't sealed. Saunders shot Braddock a look that promised trouble. The censors at least made a pretext of closing what they'd read.

"I didn't touch it!" Braddock said, backing up a step. "I didn't even open the pouch. Honest, Littlejohn, I didn't -" he looked at the big man worriedly.

"Alex sent me a letter that Mavis wrote her." Littlejohn said, his voice shaky. He sat down on the crate where he and Doc had laid their clothes, and pulled the letter from the envelope. "It's only three weeks old." He read a few lines and then he put one hand to his face and scrubbed his eyes. A few seconds later, he sat the letter down and choked on a sob.

"Littlejohn!" Doc said, immediately going to comfort his friend.

Braddock shot Saunders a horrified look and appeared about to bolt, but the look the Sarge gave him made him freeze. He looked down at the ground, carefully avoiding looking in Littlejohn's direction.

"I am so stupid." Littlejohn said, waving Doc away and crying. "How could I ever have doubted her? Oh, God!"

"We'll give you some privacy Littlejohn." Saunders said, and gestured Braddock in front of him.

"No, Sarge, it's ok." Littlejohn stammered, and managed a rueful smile. "Read it, Doc."

Doc took the letter from him and waited for Saunders nod before he read,

"I'm not as brave as you are Alex. I don't know how you can be over there so close to the guys and yet so far away, and deal with it. I cry myself to sleep every night worrying about Jimmy. I've lost so much weight that Rosa is threatening to force feed me your banana pudding, which is wonderful, by the way. I can't wait to make it for Jimmy and cook him a meal of his favorite fried chicken.

We've had to take in my wedding dress twice. It looks terrible. I put it on every night before I go to bed. I'm so scared that my Jimmy isn't going to come home to me. I'm still mad at my Dad because he wouldn't let us get married before Jimmy shipped out. Jimmy said we had to wait too. I think he just didn't want to leave me a widow with a baby if he didn't make it back. I would love to have a bunch of Jimmy's babies -" Doc stopped and cast Saunders a worried look. Braddock was digging a hole in the floor with his boot toe and looked absolutely mortified.

"Littlejohn, this is private -" Saunders started.

"No." Littlejohn said. "You all are my family now."

"Dad bought me a mule colt from the auction to play with to give me something to do. Somebody had beat him, he had a big hole in his head. Joe, our hired man, has been helping me with him. I think he will come around eventually.

Tucket is doing well. We still practice a couple times a week and I ride him every day. Maybe if this damn War is ever over, you and I can hit a couple rodeos together. I know you miss your horses and the ranch.

Take care of yourself Alex. I really appreciate all you do for my Jimmy and all the guys.

Love,

Mavis"

Doc folded the letter and stuffed it back in the envelope, looking at Littlejohn worriedly.

"I never -" Littlejohn stopped, swiped at his eyes. "I didn't realize how rough it is on her. I know how hard it is for Alex because she's closer and she knows what's really goin' on. They really are tougher than we are, Doc." He looked at the medic ruefully, then glanced at Braddock. "You won't get in trouble for bringing that to me, will you?"

"Lieutenant Hanley sent me." Braddock said, shooting Saunders a confused glance, "And I need to get back."

Saunders followed him out the door, "Braddock, if you open your big mouth -"

"The Lieutenant already told me he'd put me in Graves Registration." Braddock said. "It's true, then?"

"What's true, Braddock?"

" That Kirby is married to a WAC with some major brass connections."

"Who says that?" Saunders asked, giving him "the look".

"Ok." Braddock said. "I'm outta here. I don't know a thing."

The next day, shortly after lunch time, Braddock roared back to the village in Hanley's jeep, this time with half a bag of mail for the squad, that included a cake from Littlejohn's Mom and cookies from Doc's. But it was the letters that mattered. Littlejohn had ten! Six from Mavis, two from his Mother, and two from his sisters. Caje had mail from his grandparents, with news of the swamp. Doc had some letters from family in his box of cookies. Kirby had four letters from Alex, but none from home. McCall had a letter from Marlene, a nurse friend of Alex's, who had started writing him when Alex told her that he didn't get any mail. Saunders had three letters himself, including one from Joey in the PTO.

Caje managed to get twenty eight slices out of Littlejohn's cake with his hastily washed bayonet. Littlejohn would have given every last piece away if Saunders hadn't made him save the last two for himself. He watched his men, eating cake and laughing. None of them had touched their mail yet. McCall slid his letter inside in his jacket, and Saunders figured that he'd go off by himself to read it.

Their R & R hadn't turned out the way any of them had planned, but as much trouble as Alex was, she had made the squad happy for a few minutes, and he owed her for that.


End file.
